Chosen Ones' Anonymous
by ReferenceGoddess
Summary: The Paper leads Gary Hobson to save a student from California from an accident. He finds that getting tomorrow's newspaper today is not the strangest, or most dangerous thing in the universe. Xover with the TV show Early Edition
1. Chapter 1

Chosen Ones Anonymous

The characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Joss (the Great Staker) Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and a whole bunch of people I don't know. The characters from Early Edition belong to TriStar, CBS Productions and another whole bunch of people that I don't know. The City of Chicago and environs are real, but it is understood by everyone that the Chicago in this story is in another reality than the one in ours (so chill out!). I just want to take the characters out for a spin, and promise to return them before curfew, and with a full tank of gas. This is a non-profit operation, and suing would only net you a car with over 130,000 miles on it and a heavily mortgaged house with a leaky roof.

Buffyverse time: Season 3, between "Band Candy" and "Lover's Walk"

Early Edition time: uncertain. (sorry, I've only seen some of the shows - I can't wait 'til it comes out on DVD

Rated PG-13 for violence, mild swearing

Chosen Ones' Anonymous

Part I

The sounds all came one after another, like they did every morning. The radio clicked on, and the cheerful announcer said, "Good morning, Chicago." There was the sound of a newspaper hitting the mat, and the insistent "meow" of a cat that wanted it's breakfast right now, thank you very much.

Gary Hobson rolled out of bed and stumbled to the door. Nothing unusual about that, happened every day. People wake up, they read the paper, they feed the pet, they go to work. But his paper was different. No one else in Chicago got tomorrow's paper today. No one else in Chicago had the responsibility that came with the certain knowledge of the future. Every day spent running around, one step ahead of disaster - if he was lucky. Sometimes he felt like just stepping over the Paper, and going out the door, and having a perfectly ordinary day. He sighed as he opened the door. He couldn't ignore the Paper, and he knew it, so why bother fantasizing about it. The large orange tabby cat brushed by his ankles as it dashed for its food dish.

"Morning, Cat." Gary muttered. He reached down for the newspaper, and froze.

Plastered on the front page on the Sun Times was his picture, the photos of two women and a police id sketch. A screaming headline proclaimed "Local Businessman, Two Tourists Found Slain." Gary had seen his own death in the paper before, and avoided it, but it was still a shock to see the headline. "I really, really hate this." he thought. He took the paper back to the kitchen table, and sat down to read the article.

**Local Businessman, Two Tourists Found Slain**

Chicago. Tragedy hit the near North Side when Gary Hobson, owner of McGinty's bar and restaurant, and two women from Michigan were found murdered in the alley behind the popular night spot.

According to a distraught Marissa Clark, business partner and friend of the late Mr. Hobson, they were discussing supplies in the kitchen of McGinty's when they heard screams coming from the alleyway. Mr. Hobson sent Ms. Clark to call the police while he went outside to investigate. "Gary is...was always willing to help people," sobbed Ms. Clark.

The police have not revealed the cause of death, but some of the first witnesses at the scene said that all the slain had horrible neck wounds. The police have no suspects. The identities of the two women are being withheld pending notification of the next of kin. From the limited description of the killers, it is apparent that they were wearing masks stated a police spokesperson.

"Meow." said Cat, as it jumped onto the table.

"Cat, I'm having a crisis here. Do you mind?" said Gary.

In response, the cat neatly turned the page of the newspaper with its paw. "Me...ow!" it repeated.

Gary glanced down at page three. There was a picture of a van rammed against a pillar of some kind. The headline proclaimed "Girl Killed in Accident at O'Hare Airport." He scanned the article, and he felt his heart sink. The accident was going to occur in less than two hours. The Cat tilted its head at him, as if to say, "Well?"

Gary didn't quite remember how he got to the el station so quickly, but he had. He jammed himself onto an O'Hare destined train, earning him some dirty looks from other passengers. He fumed and fretted the entire way, as the train had all the usual rush hour problems. At least the car he had squeezed onto had a map of the airport on it. He studied it, trying to figure out the quickest route from the O'Hare el station to the terminal where the fatal accident was waiting to happen.

When the car train pulled into the station he was the first one out of the car. He ran down the concourse, and finally reached the terminal. He scanned the crowds of people milling around the arrivals area. The roadway was packed with taxis, vans, buses and automobiles. He realized he had no idea who he was looking for. The paper did not have a picture of the accident victim, a California high school student who was in Chicago to visit colleges. Damn, damn, damn he raged to himself. Time was running out. OK, Hobson, get a grip he thought to himself. He pulled the newspaper out of his back pocket and studied the photograph again. There had to be some clue, something. He ignored the van, and studied the area around it. The photographer had focused on the van, so the surroundings were fuzzy, but still...there is was, the entrance number, difficult but not impossible to read. He started jogging down the sidewalk. One, two, three, there it was, entrance four. He spotted a teenager standing next to a pillar. The diminutive redhead was reading a pamphlet, not paying attention to her surroundings. OK, all he had to do was go up to her, and ask her the time, or if she knew where something was, or anything, as long as he maneuvered her away from the pillar. He jammed the paper back into his pocket and approached her.

He heard the van before he saw it. There was a squealing of tires, and honking horns. Then he saw the van, hurtling right for the still oblivious teen. He turned his jog into a full out run. Now the girl was looked up, and saw this large stranger running toward her. Before she could do anything, Gary grabbed her and jumped out the way of the van. He twisted in the air so that he would hit the pavement first. They hit the ground with a solid thump and he could hear the van crashing into the into the steel support pillar. He threw up one arm to protect their faces from flying glass.

He looked up into the face of the girl. She was looking very startled, as one might well expect. "You, what?" she sputtered. He lowered his arm, and she turned to look at the accident. She saw the van, its front end wrapped partially around the pillar where she had been standing seconds before. Her fair face turned a rather chalky white. Please don't faint on me thought Gary.

"Er, welcome to Chicago," he said lamely.

End part one.


	2. Chapter 2

Usual disclaimers...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer isn't mine. Neither is Early Edition. Please do not sue. Trust me, it's not worth your time.

PG-13 for violence, mild swearing

Chosen Ones' Anonymous

Part II

People were milling about, exclaiming, yelling and, in general, being of no practical help at all. Gary thought it would be a good time for him to fade into the background. Before he could make his getaway, he heard cries of "Willow, oh my God." and "Pardon, pardon us please."

A blonde teenager pushed her way through the ring of people and dashed over to them. She pulled the red haired girl off of Gary and hugged her.

"Oh God, Willow, we could see it coming, and...," the blonde noticed how pale the red haired girl, Willow was. "Come on over here and sit down." The blonde led Willow to the side of the road and sat her down on the curb.

"Buffy, I never saw it coming, and all of sudden there was this guy, and, and,"

The blonde pushed the red haired girl's head down. "Breathe, Willow, breathe."

"OK, good idea, stop babbling now." said Willow, her voice muffled.

Before Gary could get up, a man appeared before him. The guy was middle-aged, curling brown hair shot with gray. On the lapel of his jacket was a red and yellow badge that read, "Sunnydale High - Faculty." He offered a hand to Gary.

Gary grabbed it and let the man haul him to his feet. He made a face as a number of his muscles let him know that they were very unhappy about this morning's adventure. The man turned for a moment. He shrugged off his tweed jacket and tossed it to the blonde girl. In turn, she draped it around the shoulders of the red head.

"We could see the van, but we were too far away," started the stranger. His accent was educated, British. In his excitement, he also had a bit of a stammer. "It all happened so fast, and if you hadn't been there, well, well." He shied away from stating the horribly obvious. "Thank you very, very much," he concluded. He shook Gary's hand vigorously. "Oh, manners, yes. I'm Rupert Giles, and you are?"

From the curb, the blonde rewarded him with a dazzling smile. The two girls had been joined by a teenage boy, who had his arm wrapped protectively around the red head's shoulder. "Hey," he said. "Thanks."

It was very nice to be thanked, thought Gary, but he didn't have time for formal introductions. It was time for him to get going. The police would be here soon, and he knew several members of the Chicago police department were very suspicious of his presence at so many near-disasters. No need to add another incident to their files.

"Hey, I'm just glad she's ok. If you don't mind, I really have to...," Gary started. He didn't get to finish his sentence. Behind him came the horrible sound of metal screeching on metal. The driver's side door of the van had popped open. A very large man stumbled out of the vehicle. He glowered at his van, and then at Gary.

Gary remembered the rest of the article. It has said that the driver, who had received only minor injuries, was 'allegedly' drunk. As he watched the man stagger towards them, he thought "No allegedly about it."

"Look what happened to my van." he yelled belligerently at Gary. "Why you get in my way?" The fumes of alcohol coming off the guy actually managed to overcome the traffic exhaust fumes. This was the last thing Gary needed. The drunk raised one ham-like arm, obviously planning on taking his frustration out on Gary. "I really, really don't want to fight this guy," thought Gary. "I bet I could outrun him."

Before he could move, the Englishman had interposed himself between the drunk and Gary. All the warmth had gone out of his expression, and his voice was as cold as a Chicago January.

"Instead of attacking this man," said the Englishman, "you should be thanking him for saving you from a charge of vehicular homicide." Gary noticed that Mr. Gile's stutter had disappeared.

"Keep outta this," snarled the drunk. The little blonde teen (Buffy, had Gary heard the name right?) was there, glaring up at the man. "Listen you jerk," she began. Willow grabbed Buffy's arm. Despite the traffic noise, Gary could hear Willow's whispered words. "Buffy, big, big audience. Better let Giles handle this one." What in heaven's name did that tiny little blonde think she was going to do wondered Gary.

Running a bar gave Gary a fair amount of experience with drunks. This guy was looking for a fight, and he wasn't going to be diverted. Gary couldn't allow this oversized idiot to slug a middle-aged school teacher. The drunk started to swing at the annoying foreigner in his way. Before Gary could move, there was a flurry of movement, and Mr. Giles had the larger man pinned face-first against the van. He had the drunk's right arm twisted up behind the drunk's back in what looked to be a very uncomfortable angle.

Mr. Gile's voice was low, hard, and his accent lost some of its polish. "You bloody pillock, I've had about enough of you."

"Ow, you're breaking my arm," yelled the drunk.

The Englishman's voice dropped even lower, so low Gary could barely hear the next words. "I assure you," he said coldly, "that if any harm had befallen Miss Rosenberg, a broken arm would be the least of your worries." He twisted the drunk's arm a little more, and the man yelped in pain.

"Move over, move over. Outta the way." Gary caught the sight of policemen pushing their way through the crowd. Buffy went over to the Englishman and said, "Giles, cops. I'd like to trash the creep too, but I bet they won't see it that way, and I don't have enough money to bail you out."

"You make an excellent point, Buffy." Mr. Giles released the drunk just as the police arrived on the scene.

The next half-hour was a round of questions. When the older policeman took his name, he said, "Oh, The Gary Hobson?", but would not elaborate. The drunk had tried to complain, but no one took much notice. Several people in the crowd affirmed that the drunk had taken a swing at the shorter man, who had been forced to defend himself. Mr. Giles asked if he could sign the complaints later, as the students he was chaperoning were already late for their college visits.

Finally, the police let them go, and Gary heaved a sigh of relief. Now, he thought, I can go home and figure out how not to get murdered tonight. He was about to slip away when he heard Willow's voice say, "Uh guys, I think you should look at this."

He heard another girl's voice say, "Yeah, look at that. The newspaper has the date wrong."

Gary reached for his back pocket. The Paper wasn't there. He turned around, and saw the red haired girl holding a copy of the Sun Times. Another girl, this one with long, dark hair was looking over her shoulder. "What kind of paper can't even get the date right?" asked the brunette, her voice scornful.

"Uh, I think that's mine," said Gary. "If you don't mind, I have to be somewhere else, so..."

By now the short boy with the strangely colored hair was looking at the paper. He looked up at the van, still wrapped around the support beam, and then back at the paper. "Buffy, Giles? This is a bit freaksome."

Gary made a desperate grab for the paper, and found his wrist locked in the iron grip of...the little blonde? His brain refused to accept it for a moment. He was twice her size, and it wasn't like he was some out-of-shape desk jockey. She was holding him still with less effort than if he had been a toddler.

Mr. Giles had come over, and Willow handed the newspaper over to him. He also compared the accident scene with the paper. He flipped the pages over to the front page. He stared at it, then Gary, then the paper once again. Willow gasped, and the boy raised his eyebrows slightly. The brunette studied it for a moment, and then proclaimed, "I don't believe it. Two thousand miles from Sunnydale, and the weirdness comes along for the ride. This is so unfair."

Buffy released Gary and went over to the others. She studied the newspaper, and then said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Looks like you have a problem. Need help?"

Gary stared at them, open mouthed. Only a few people knew about the Paper. How could he explain this, should he explain it? His mind refused to frame a reasonable response, or an unreasonable one, for that matter.

"Meow."

Gary looked down at his feet. Cat was there, rubbing up against his ankle. "Cat?" he said.

Cat walked over to the group and hopped into Buffy's arms.

"Are you saying I should trust them?" he asked, not caring how insane he sounded.

"Meow." Cat rubbed his head against Buffy's chin. "Meow."

"Oh, what a nice cat," exclaimed Willow. Cat jumped from Buffy's arms to Willow's shoulder. "He's purring," she said. Cat meowed once more, and then jumped back to the pavement and disappeared into the crowds.

"Well, well," said Mr. Giles. The group picked up their luggage and looked at Gary expectantly. "Coming?" said Buffy. Gary shrugged and headed after them. He needed the paper back. Maybe an explanation would come to him.

Gary found himself attached to the group. Mr. Giles introduced him as a guide, so he found himself in the front of a bus load of teenagers, giving an impromptu travelogue on Chicago. He had talked himself hoarse by the time the bus reached the University of Chicago. University officials sorted the students into tour groups and herded them off.

"Time for a cup of tea, yes?" asked Mr. Giles. They found an isolated table in a lounge and sat down. The Englishman studied the front page of the paper and said, "This is what I think it is, isn't it? Tomorrow's news?"

Gary stared at him. "Err, a, you don't seem very surprised by the idea."

"Well, I am a bit, actually, but one gets used to odd things, living in Sunnydale." Gary didn't know what to make of that, so he let it pass.

"Yes, it is, and I hope you realize why I don't want others to know."

"Oh, yes, I do. The temptation to use the certain knowledge of the future would be too much for many." He flipped back to the page that contained the information about this morning's accident. Of course, the headline had changed. "Is this what is said this morning?"

"No," said Gary. "This morning it said that a student would be killed by a drunken driver."

"So you rushed to the airport to prevent the accident?"

"Yes."

"You do this often?"

"Every day," Gary sighed. "Uh, could I have that back? I haven't even had time to see if there's anywhere else I need to be at today."

"You mean before this evening, when you..."

"Well, I've seen my death in the paper before. I've avoided it so far," said Gary.

"Hmm, yes." The other man tapped the paper. The problem is, the manner of the incident tonight indicates that," he stopped, seeming uncertain how to continue.

"Indicates what, besides there's going to some lunatic behind my restaurant tonight?" What the heck was this guy trying to say?

"You've trusted us with your secret, so it only seems fair to trust you with ours. I would be willing to bet that tonight's killer is not, well, human." He took a breath and plowed on. "In fact, I believe that you may have a vampire problem."

Gary blinked. "Vampires, like Dracula, bats, allergic to sunlight vampires?" Cat wanted him to trust these people?

"Yes, I know it sounds incredible, but so are newspaper deliveries from the future. Besides, you seemed to willing to trust us based on a character reference from a tabby cat."

"OK, you've got me there. Just for the sake of argument, let's say you're right. How can you help me?"

"Actually, Buffy can help you."

"Buffy? She's the little blonde, right? How can she help me?"

"She's the Slayer." He said the word like it was a title.

"What's a Slayer?" Gary was feeling more and more lost by the moment.

"Into each generation," began Mr. Giles.

"Oh, he love's this part." Buffy plopped herself down at the table.

Mr. Giles frowned. "Buffy, why aren't you with the others?"

"Ah, come on Giles, it's not like I'm going to this school. I came along mostly to keep Willow company." She turned to Gary. "Did he get to the part about how I'm the Chosen one, slay the vampires, kill the demons, protect the world from the forces of darkness, yada, yada, yada?"

"No, I had not," said Mr. Giles.

"Well, I am." said the girl. She seemed annoyed. Here I was hoping for a few days off, and I'm back on the clock." She noticed Gary's confused face, and turned to him.

"Look, we saw the article. You have this freaky newspaper that tells the future, and it says you were going to get killed by something that goes for people's throats. Sounds like my line of work. I love screwing up prophecies. Right Giles?" She laughed, and even Mr. Giles smiled.

"Well, I guess you could call them prophecies," said Gary. "I spend a lot of time making sure stuff in the paper doesn't come true. Can I have my paper back?"

Mr. Giles slid the newspaper back to him.

"The students have to visit DePaul this afternoon, and then they have the evening free. May I suggest that we meet at your place of business tonight, and we'll take care of your problem."

"Err, yeah." They exchanged information, and Gary headed off to look for a cab. What had the Paper gotten him into this time?

End part 2

Author's note: Sorry, no Xander. All Scoobies know that Xander isn't university material. More importantly, I find him too hard to write. Pity, 'cause I love the guy. But I won't write him until I can write dialog worthy of the Xan-man!


	3. Chapter 3

Usual disclaimers...

Buffy and company is Joss Whedon's. Gary Hobson and friends is TriStar's. Chicago and environs are real, just not our reality. Not making a dime off of this, please don't sue.

Rated PG-13 for violence and mild swearing

Part 3

The group from California showed up at McGinty's at 7:00. Fortunately, the Paper hadn't demanded much more from Gary that day, and he actually had some time to get ready for guests. Not knowing what else to do (what was the proper thing to serve to visiting vampire slayers?), Gary had ordered salads from the restaurant connected to his bar and some pizzas from a place down the street. Hey, everyone liked Chicago-style pizza, right?

They devoured the food with great enthusiasm. The tall brunette, whose name was Cordelia limited herself to the salad, which did not surprise Gary. What did surprise him was the way Buffy went for the pizza. She saw him looking at her, smiled, and said, "Slayer metabolism. About the only good thing about this gig." That was the only mention of why they were there during dinner; there seemed to be some unspoken agreement to keep the conversation light while they ate. (except for Cordelia, who seemed very interested in the fact that he owned not only McGinty's but the entire building. She asked more questions about the business than his accountant). They were informal with each other, heck, the kids didn't call Mr. Giles Mr. Giles - they addressed him as Giles, and he didn't seem to mind.

The teens were polishing off the last of the pizza when a soft knock came at the door. Gary felt relieved; it must be Marissa. She knew about the Paper, and he could count on her help him with the latest strangeness that had been thrown his way.

"Door's open," he called out. The door swung open, revealing an elegant black woman, holding a guide dog's harness.

"Hi Marissa, hi Spike," said Gary. He was going to start the introductions, when his guests' reactions froze his words. Cordelia had given a small scream and she had hidden herself behind a pillar. The boy, Oz, had moved quickly to Willow's side. Giles and Buffy had both jumped up, Buffy's chair falling back with a clatter. Buffy had pulled a wooden stick out of her ponytail, and was holding it like a knife.

Marissa paused at the door, uncertain. "Gary?" she called.

"Ah, it's ok Marissa. I have some guests I need you to meet." He turned to the others. "This is Marissa Clark, my friend and business partner. And that's Spike, her guide dog." At this, his guests relaxed, and Buffy looked abashed. She picked up her chair.

"Sorry. It's just that we know this vamp named Spike. He's really bad news."

"The worst," agreed Willow.

"Gary?" said Marissa again. "Is everything alright?"

Giles had walked up to Gary, and said softly, "Do you really wish to involve her?"

"It's ok," replied Gary. "She knows about the Paper." He raised his voice. "Come on in and sit down, Marissa. The Paper has thrown me something really bizarre this time."

She walked into the apartment with assurance, obviously knowing the layout of the furniture. Giles pulled out a chair for her with a murmured, "Allow me." She smiled and settled into the seat nearest Gary. Her dog lay down at her feet. Everyone gathered around the table and looked at Gary expectantly. Well, it was his party, so he guessed he was in charge of starting the festivities.

"Ah, well Marissa, the others here are Willow Rosenberg, Cordelia Chase, Buffy Summers, Rupert Giles and , er, Oz."

"Oz?" she repeated

"They're from California," explained Gary. "And, to make a long story really short, they found out about the Paper."

"How?" exclaimed Marissa. Gary gave her the description of his day, starting out with his splashy death notice and ending with Cat's endorsement of his guests.

"Well, I suppose if it's ok with Cat," started Marissa, her voice still doubtful. She paused a moment, and stated, "There's something you're not telling me."

"Yeah, well this is the strange part. Judging from the newspaper story, our guests believe that the killers are, well, vampires."

"Vampires," she said weakly.

"And Buffy here is a Slayer..."

"The Slayer," corrected Giles.

"Yeah, that's me, the Chosen One," chimed in Buffy.

"Except now there's two Chosen Ones," added Oz.

"On account that Buffy was dead, and another Slayer was called," added Willow helpfully.

"Only Xander found Buffy in time and gave her CPR," said Cordelia.

"And I got better," continued Buffy, "And here I am, to take care of the few vampires who haven't moved to Sunnydale."

"Thus ruining any chance of having one horror-free weekend," complained Cordelia.

By this point, Marissa looked as confused as Gary felt. He needed to take control of this conversation.

"Saying this is all true, which I'm not," said Gary, "what do I do?"

"You stay out of the alley, I dust 'em, we party." stated Buffy. "Just another night's work."

"What about the tourists?" asked Oz. We gotta keep them out of the alley."

"Very good point, Oz," said Giles. There was a long pause.

"Coupons." said Marissa.

They all stared at her. "Coupons?" asked Willow.

"We had coupons printed up for McGinty's - a special promotion. Maybe some of you could stand in front of the alley and hand out the coupons. That would distract people from, well, whatever it is you do? Is killing vampires noisy work?" Marissa said these last few words like she could hardly believe they were coming out of her mouth.

"It can be," stated Buffy. She looked at the clock on the wall. "Aren't we getting close to party time?" Did everyone get the supplies?"

The others went to bags they had left by the door. They came back and started dumping the supplies on his table.

"Holy water, courtesy of the chapel at DePaul," said Willow, pulling several small bottles out of her bag.

"And crosses from the religious bookstore." Oz added the items to the pile.

"What about stakes?" asked Buffy.

"There is a certain dearth of lumber stores in the Chicago Loop." said Giles. "We'll just have to improvise."

"Could you break up some packing crates?" asked Marissa. "Our good wine comes in wood cases, not cardboard boxes."

"That would do splendidly," responded Giles.

"So who gets to hand out coupons?" asked Willow.

Oz raised his hand. "I think Cordy and I should. We're both 18, so Gary won't get in trouble for employing the underaged."

"So I'll be with Buffy?" asked Willow. The others looked at her askance. "I've killed vampires before. Ok, it was just the one, and Giles had to hold it still for me, but still, that should count."

"I think it would be best if you stay with Ms. Clark, Willow. If the vampires should try to escape through the restaurant, she'll need someone with her." Giles made this pronouncement in tones of utmost reasonableness.

Willow looked mutinous, but she stopped arguing.

Giles looked at them all. "Mr. Hobson, if you would show us where those packing crates are, we can get into position."

They followed Gary out of his apartment, each of them grabbing a cross and bottle of holy water on their way out the door. Could things get any stranger, he wondered.

It took his guests only a few minutes to take their places. To Gary, it spoke of long experience at whatever it was these people did. Oz and Cordelia were in front of the alleyway, loudly handing out the coupons. Willow and Marissa stationed themselves at the restaurant's backdoor. Spike sat alertly by Marissa. Buffy was out on the street, planning to 'wander' into the alley at the proper time. Gary and Giles joined Willow and Marissa at the backdoor.

"Now, according to the newspaper," said Giles. "There are only two attackers. Buffy should be able to handle them easily, but we'll stand by just in case."

"I don't like this," fretted Gary. "She's just a kid. She shouldn't be out there while I'm in here."

"I assure you Buffy is quite good at her job. She has faced, and defeated creatures much more frightening than this."

Gary did not feel assured. "How much experience can she have. She's what, sixteen?"

"Seventeen, and she's been doing this for nearly three years now."

Gary was outraged, but any further comments he had to make cut off by a sharp motion from Giles. Spike had started to whine and fidget. "Time," said Giles.

----------------

Buffy passed by Cordelia and Oz's position. Cordelia was complaining about the cold. Buffy looked down the street and spotted two women coming down the street.

"Isn't that them, the women in the paper?" whispered Buffy.

Oz took a quick glance. "I think so."

Buffy reached into her jacket and grabbed the end of the stake hidden in the inner pocket. "Whatever you do, keep them out of the alley."

Oz nodded and turned his attention to the street. Buffy returned his nod and marched into the dark alley.

Buffy had almost reached the backdoor of McGinty's when the two vampires came of hiding. One leaned on the door, the other circled around her to cut off the way to the street. They didn't have their game faces on, not yet. They just looked like two street toughs, looking for trouble.

"Wrong way, little girl. Maybe we could help you." sneered the one leaning on the door.

"Don't think so, moron," was Buffy's reply.

"Insulting people when they have you outnumbered is real stupid," snarled the one behind her.

Buffy looked bored. "You're in my way, and why do you undead jerks have to talk all the time?"

The two looked taken aback, momentarily. Then their faces morphed into demon visages. "You talk real tough, blondie. Who do you think you are, the Slayer?" The two laughed at this.

Buffy suddenly lashed out with a kick, sending the vampire in back of her flying into some garbage cans. "Well, yes. Fangface wins a lovely parting gift." She smiled, and pulled the stake out of her jacket.

---------------

"Time," said Giles.

Even over the noise of McGinty's busy kitchen, Gary could hear the crashing of the garbage cans. Before Giles could stop him, Gary opened the door and rushed out into the alley.

"Oh, bugger," muttered Giles. "Stay with Miss Clark!" he yelled to Willow as he followed Gary outside.

Marissa looked very anxious. "Don't worry," said Willow. "It's only two of them. Buffy could dust them in her sleep, practically." She popped the cork out of a bottle of holy water.

Marissa didn't look comforted by this. "I hope you're right."

Gary's ran out into the alley just in time for one of the vampires to come flying into his arms. They both went down in a tangled heap. The vampire's face was inches from Gary face. Gary froze; he hadn't really believed his guests' story - until now. One cold, incredibly strong hand clutched his throat and squeezed. Gary, unable to breathe, started to panic. His left hand brushed against something; he grabbed it and swung it awkardly at his attacker. The vampire screamed and rolled away from Gary, clutching its face.

Gary rolled to a sitting position. Gary was confused, he knew he didn't hit it that hard. Then the vampire's hands dropped away from it's face. To Gary's amazement, there was a cross-shaped burn marring one cheek. Gary looked down to his left hand; the thing he had grabbed was one of the crosses the kids had brought this afternoon. Now he was very confused; he had not taken one from the pile on his dining room table. Maybe Cat was looking out for him. The vampire snarled and tensed, looking like it was going to leap at him. Remembering all those nights he and his friends in junior high had stayed up late watching Creature Features, Gary raised the cross in front of him. The vampire hissed, torn between its desire to tear out Gary's throat and its fear of the cross. It didn't notice Giles coming up behind it. Giles slamed a stake into its back. It screamed and twisted wildly, clutching at its back.

"Damn," said Giles. "Missed the heart."

Another shape came flying through the air and slammed against the side of the building. Buffy ran it and jabbed her stake into the creature. It gave one last yell and then, to Gary's amazement, collapsed into a pile of dust. Buffy gave a satisfied smile. "One down, one to go."

The injured vampire, seeing it was outnumbered, stumbled to its feet and ran towards the restaurant door. Gary croaked out, "Marissa! No!" The creature got the door open, and then it screamed and turned away from the door, it's face a smoking ruin. Gary could now see Willow in the doorway, holding a cross in one hand and an empty holy water bottle in the other. It backed up - right into Buffy. She smiled sweetly at it, and ran her stake through it. It, like the first one, exploded, leaving a pile on dust on the ground.

"Er, yes, well done, Buffy, Willow," said Giles.

Marissa stuck her head out the door. "Is it over?" she asked.

Gary walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "Yeah, the horror movie is over. Cat gives really good character recommendations."

Oz and Cordelia wandered into the alley. They took in the piles of dust in the alley. Cordelia crossed her arms over her chest. "Can we go now?" she demanded. " I have serious shopping to do tomorrow."

End Part 3.

I've redone the fight scene three times now, and I'm still not satisfied. Constructive feedback, anyone? Many thanks to the folks who politely and privately pointed out some of my embarrassing typos in Chapter 2 - I think I fixed them all.

For folks who didn't grow up in the Chicago area in the early 1970's, _Creature Features_ was a late-night horror movie show broadcast on weekend nights. Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy - ah, the classics. And for those of you who haven't seen Early Edition, Cat had a way of making sure Gary had what he needed. Gary's Powers That Be were much better employers than Buffy's!


	4. Chapter 4

Usual disclaimers...

The characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Joss (the Great Staker) Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and a whole bunch of people I don't know. The characters from Early Edition belong to TriStar, CBS Productions and another whole bunch of people that I don't know. The City of Chicago and environs are real, but it is understood by everyone that the Chicago in this story is in another reality than the one in ours. I'm not making a dime off this little project.

Rated PG-13 for violence and mild swearing

Part 4

Music, paper thumping against the door, Cat's meowing. Gary rolled out of bed and limped towards his door. He was still stiff and sore from last night's adventure. He still couldn't believe how strong vampires were; or how easily Buffy disposed of them. He hoped the Paper didn't have anything requiring rolling, jumping and leaping, because he wasn't sure he was up to it. He touched his throat, still tender from last night's attack.

He opened the door, and Cat ran into to its food bowl. He unrolled the Paper, and froze. Oh God, this is a thousand times worse than yesterday's news. He stared at the Paper for a moment, hoping against hope that the ink would rearrange itself into news he could stomach. Of course, the headline didn't change - nothing changed unless he changed it. Damn, damn, damn.

He read the front page, feeling increasingly sick. High school students touring Northwestern University's Evanston campus had been slaughtered by, well, no one knew quite what. The officials weren't talking, the accounts of witnesses were incredible. Gary turned to the next page and the horribly long list of victims. He scanned the page until he saw the listing under "Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale CA." There were their names; Willow, Cordelia, Oz, Giles, even Buffy - all dead.

"Meow?" Gary started. Cat looked at him as if to say, "Well, why are you just sitting there?"

"Warn them, have to warn them. How?" Gary grabbed the jacket he had worn yesterday and searched the pockets. Giles had scribbled down the name of the hotel the students were staying at. God, where was it? Business cards, parking stubs, there, there it was.

He grabbed up the phone and dialed. He waited for what seemed an eternity as the hotel desk clerk transferred his call. Three rings, four. Please still be there. Just as he was about to give up, he heard the receiver pick up.

"Good morning," said the proper English voice.

"Thank God you're still there," said Gary. "We have to talk now. Emergency."

"Ah, Mr. Hobson. I take it the news is bad?"

"Really, really bad. Can't explain over the phone, but this is big. I think I need help. You need help. We all need help."

"Of course. Can you meet us at the hotel for breakfast?"

--------------

"This is so unfair. I was going to spend the morning shopping!" exclaimed Cordelia.

To Gary's surprise, this was the strongest reaction he got from the group. The teenagers were plowing through the hotel's continental breakfast like it was their only meal of the day. He put down his untasted cup of coffee.

"How can you take this so calmly?" Gary could hardly get the words out.

"We sorta specialize in apocalyptic prophecies," explained Willow.

"Been there, done that, didn't even get a crummy t-shirt," said Buffy.

"Still," said Giles, "This is clearly serious, and we need a plan. Ideas?"

"It would help if we could get the civilians out of the way," said Buffy. She turned to Willow. "Can you do a little on-line magic?"

"Oh, yeah!" enthused Willow. "I could hack into the university's system and reschedule all the other schools for an earlier appointment."

"Weapons?" asked Oz.

"Hmmm. Sounds like a really big oogly-boogly. We're going to need more than a stake. Don't suppose there's a military base we could raid?" Buffy looked expectantly at Gary.

"Yeah, anti-aircraft missiles work really well on extra large demons." said Cordelia.

God, these people were nuts. "Er, no. Fort Sheridan was closed a few years back."

Buffy and Giles had their heads bent over the newspaper, looking for clues to what was going to kill so many people. There were so many conflicting stories from the panicked survivors that they couldn't be sure of anything, except that the thing was big. Buffy started flipping through the pages. Oz held up a hand, stopping her. He pointed at something on the page.

"Hey." said Oz. "Possible weapons source."

They gathered around him. There was a picture of two men in Highland dress, swords drawn. "Renaissance Faire opens this weekend in forest preserve near Green Oaks. Two sword merchants demonstrate their wares." read Willow.

"Ooh, big sharp, pointy things. Can I have some, Giles?" Buffy sounded like a child in a toy store.

"Well, it looks like we have the beginning of a plan." said Giles. "We will have to procure transportation, go to this place, and see what we can find. Willow will stay here and use her computer to misdirect the other schools." He turned to Gary. "How long will it take us to get to Green Oaks?"

Gary thought for a moment. "About an hour."

"Very well. Off to find a car rental agency then."

"I can drive everyone," offered Gary. "As long as we can be back by two o'clock. The Paper has a few more jobs for me."

It took them little over an hour to find the park. People were unloading vans and trucks, erecting tents and pavilions. A harried looking woman in a park ranger's uniform explained that the fair was still setting up, and yes, they could look around. They wandered around, looking for the two men they had seen in the newspaper. Gary looked at his watch impatiently. So much to do, so little time. This place was a madhouse. Stupid paper. How was he supposed to find the sword merchants and still get back to the city in time?

"Meow?"

"Huh, Cat?" said Gary. The tabby stared at him for a moment, and then ran off into the crowd.

"That way," said Gary, as he followed the cat through the crowd. Buffy caught up with him.

"So, do you always take advice from that cat?" she asked.

"Always," said Gary. "Ignoring him is a really bad idea."

"Kinda like Giles," laughed Buffy.

"Uh, yeah. Listen Buffy, is it true what Giles told me? That you've been doing this since you were fifteen?"

"Yep, regular child prodigy," she replied.

"That's outrageous!" he exclaimed. A few heads swivelled his way. He lowered his voice with effort. "Hell, at least I was over thirty when the Paper showed up on my doorstep."

"Yeah, it sucks to be me," agreed Buffy.

"But, can't you do something about this?"

"Like what? File a complaint with some government agency?"

"Put it that way, well no. But there.." she cut him off.

"Believe me, if I could run away from this, I could. Actually, I tried to, once. Didn't work." she sighed. "Besides, I've had it better than most Slayers. I have friends, and a Watcher who actually does more than watch. What more could a girl ask for, I mean, besides, really killer shoes?"

What's a watcher?" asked Gary, diverted.

"That would be Giles. Watchers are supposed to find potential Slayers and train them. From what he's told me, mostly Watchers, well, watch. Giles tried to do it their way, but he gets into the fight all the time. He's a bit of a rebel."

Gary was going to laugh at that, thinking of the very proper Englishman, until he remembered what happened at the airport yesterday. The expression on Giles' face when he pinned the drunk against the van had been cold, feral, and frankly, rather scary. He said instead, "Their way?" he prompted.

"Council of stuffy British sit-on-their-tails while Slayers do all the work and get killed guys." Her voice was rich with contempt. "Oops, I think we've found our guys."

They had come to a clearing in the crowd. A ring of posts and ropes kept the spectators away from the men fighting in the ring. One was a tall man with a long white beard, the other a short man with a trimmed dark beard. They were both wearing kilts, and they were both wielding long swords, which rang with each blow. They broke off and circled each other. Then there was a flurry of blows, and then it was over. The tall man's sword had been blocked into the ground, it's tip held in the soil by the short man's sword. Seemingly out of nowhere, the shorter man had a small, wicked looking dagger in his left hand, hovering a few inches away from the taller man's throat.

"Sometimes, speed is better than size, wouldn't you agree?" said the shorter man. Several people in the watching crowd yelled their assent. Buffy looked around, and spotted their target. "Oh look," she exclaimed, "Big pointy objects."

She pushed her way to the booth set up next to the fight circle. A short plump woman wearing a plain brown gown was arranging knives in a display case. She looked up at the approaching people and smiled.

"Can I help you?"

Buffy's eyes alighted on something on the display in the back of the booth.

"Oohh! I want that!" she exclaimed.

The woman's smile turned into a grin. "That's the sort of talk we encourage here." She turned around and said, "Which one?"

Buffy pointed. "The big one."

The woman looked puzzled. Buffy nodded, and woman reached for the sword. Gary could see the woman stagger slightly as she took the weapon off its display hooks. Gary leaned over to Buffy and whispered, "That thing must be six feet long."

"Yes," agreed Buffy happily. She reached for the sword eagerly. The woman paused.

"You are eighteen years old, right?"

Yeah, you betcha," said Buffy with a look of total innocence. Giles finally caught up with them.

"I'll take responsibility for it," he stated. The woman looked a bit dubious, but she handed the weapon over to Buffy. "Is there a place she could try it out?"

The woman pointed to the roped off circle that the two men had left. Buffy took the sword and stepped into the ring. She started to swing it experimentally, first slowly and then picking up speed. People stopped what they were doing to watch in surprise as the slight blonde swing the great sword in great arcs and complicated circles. She ended the routine with a leaping stab towards a dummy set up in the ring. The crowd around the circle broke out into applause. Gary could hear Cordelia mutter, "Good way to keep your secret identity secret, Buffy."

Buffy ignored the crowd and bounded back to Giles. "Can I have it, please?" she pleaded.

"While there is no doubt that you can handle the claymore," he said, "please keep in mind that we have to get the items on campus. Perhaps something a bit smaller would be better." Buffy pouted, but handed the sword back to the waiting woman. Buffy and Giles both tried out several more swords. As Gary watched the librarian swing something that the woman at the booth identified (in all seriousness) as a bastard sword, he thought, "I bet he doesn't have a problem with overdue books."

In short order, selections were made and they walked back to the van with their purchases. The woman and two men had offered to help them, but the offer was politely declined. The name of Gary's business was plastered all over the van, and he didn't need anymore attention. Besides several swords and knives, there were some small crossbows and a grappling hook. "What do you need that for?" asked Gary.

"I don't know, yet." answered Buffy. "It just seemed to be a good idea."

He drove them back to the city and left them off at their hotel. They made plans to meet later, and Gary tore off to take care of the various chores assigned to him by the Paper.

End Part Four


	5. Chapter 5

Usual disclaimers...

Don't own Buffy (unless you count some boxed DVD sets), don't own Early Edition. No money is being made, and I'm treating the characters with the utmost respect.

Rated PG-13 for violence and mild swearing

Chosen Ones' Anonymous

Part V

Gary sat on a park bench on the college campus, staring out at the lake. Two large gym bags, stuffed with today's weapon purchases, were at his feet. He kept the paper open, trying to look harmless and innocent. Explaining bags of weapons to campus security was not on his to-do list. He shivered, as the weather had turned cold. That was a bit of luck. If the weather had been nice, the lakefront park would have been filled with students playing frisbee and catch, or just hanging around. He flipped to the front page again. The article has changed already. Willow had managed to hack into various and sundry computers and send the other schools' groups on earlier tours. The handful of students from Sunnydale High were the only ones on this trip. The long list of casualties was gone. Unfortunately, his new friends now comprised the short list of casualties. Willow was downcast. What else could they do?

"It means there's still something we have to change," responded Gary. They agreed that they still had to be there; something was coming, and they could not allow it free run of the city. And so he was here, watching the waves on the lake and fretting and wondering when Svengoolie was going to show up and start doing color commentary.

The group came around the corner. Buffy spotted Gary and gave him a barely perceptible nod. They were accompanied by a short, smartly dressed woman, a representative of the admissions office, no doubt. "And here, you can see, is the university's lakefront park. If the weather were a bit warmer, you would see many students enjoying a little down time here." She turned to look out at the lake. "Of course, we have an unparrelled view of Lake Michigan and..." she paused in confusion. There seemed to be something bubbling out of the water. Gary shivered, and it had nothing to do with the cold. He bent to the gym bags and started unzipping them.

All of sudden a great, ugly reptilian head popped up out of the water. It had a long neck, and seemed to be attached to an enormous body, still partially hidden by the water. The group of teenagers pelted towards Gary. He dumped the bags' contents out on the grass. Willow and Cordelia both grabbed crossbows and took up positions by nearby trees. Buffy grabbed the longest sword in the bag. Oz grabbed a slightly smaller sword and followed Buffy as a respectful distance. Giles hauled the stunned college woman away from the creature.

The creature came closer to the land. The front two legs scrabbled for purchase on the rocks of the breakwater.

"What is it, Giles?" yelled Buffy. "A dragon?"

"Not quite sure," yelled Giles. He had managed to drag the woman to Gary's bench and sat her down in it. "Sorry, please keep back," he said to her. As he grabbed for a sword, he hollered to Buffy, "And no, I'm not sure what is the best way to kill it."

"OK," said Buffy. "I guess we'll go for the ever popular beheading then. That ruins just about everyone's day."

Gary stared at the approaching creature in disbelief. "What the hell is that thing?" he asked of no one in particular.

"It would appear to be a mythical beast," said the woman next to him. "Quite extraordinary." Her tone was casual, much too casual. Gary turned to look at her pale face. He pulled off his jacket and draped it around her. "Please don't go into shock," he prayed. He heard a howl of pain and turned towards the fight.

The creature had dragged part of its body onto land. He could see that it was bleeding from one leg. Buffy danced away from it, waving her sword. "Pretty slow, aren't you?" she taunted it.

The enraged creature snapped at her. She easily dodged it. It curved its neck back for another strike. Suddenly, it jerked back. Gary though it could see a bright red spot just under the monster's jaw.

"I'm so good," he could hear Cordelia exclaim.

"I think that was my shot," argued Willow.

"I don't think so," retorted Cordelia as she struggled to fit another bolt into her crossbow. Gary shook his head. Kids. He returned his attention to the battle.

The monster was now bleeding from several places. Buffy, Oz and Giles were all darting here and there, keeping the creature confused. It jerked back again, this time with a dart just above the eye. It howled and shook its head. Buffy took the opportunity to take a running leap, and, with one blow, swept the monster's head off its neck. Buffy twisted away from the spray of dark blood. Gary turned away. He could hear Cordelia say, "Euww!" The monster's body slumped on the rocky beach, and the head rolled several feet before coming to a rest at Giles' feet. He looked at it with distaste.

"Very well done Buffy." he said, as he started to wipe the blood off his sword. "Why don't you rest, and we'll dispose of the head." He took a long look at the enormous body on the shore. "That, on the other hand, is going to present something of a problem."

The others gathered around Gary, putting their weapons back in the bags.

"Well, that was easy," said Willow happily. Usually there's more fighting, and injuries, and stuff like that."

Buffy bounded up to them, bouncing up and down with unexpended energy.

"We came, we slayed, we party!" Buffy cried out, brandishing her sword. Gary smiled and reached into his back pocket for the Paper. He wondered how the _Sun Times_ reporters were going to cover this. He unfolded the Paper and hissed. Buffy darted a look at him. "What's up, Gary?"

He turned the Paper so she could see it. "California Librarian Slain at Lakefront." Buffy's face went white. She turned and screamed, "Giles!"

Her note of panic jerked Giles away from his study of the monster. He started running towards her when, incredibly, the monster's neck twitched. The body jerked again, and the neck swung out and caught the man in the back, throwing him forward into the park bench. Giles' head hit the seat with a crack, and he slumped down to the ground.

"Oh great, what a surprise," said Cordelia in long suffering tones. "We're in trouble, and Giles is unconscious, again."

End part 5

Author's note: Hey, it's not a real episode of early Buffy unless Giles gets knocked on the head!

For non-Chicago residents, the Son of Svengoolie show is one of those late night horror film television shows with cheesy commentary and really painful puns thrown in. Before there was Mystery Science Fiction Theater 3000, there was Svengoolie!


	6. Chapter 6

Usual disclaimers...

They're not mine, alas. I grovel at the feet of those who did create them. I'm just borrowing them, and promise to treat them with utmost respect.

Rated PG-13 for violence and mild swearing.

Chosen Ones' Anonymous

Part VI

They all stood and stared as the supposedly dead creature twitched again. The severed end of the neck started to bulge and bubble. They looked on in repulsed horror as two of the bulges grew and elongated. Suddenly, with a splattering of blood and scales, a head burst out of each bubble. The heads were smaller, but otherwise twins to the one that still lay on the ground.

"Er, Buffy," said Oz. "Plan?"

"I don't know," she yelled. "Keep cutting off heads until it runs out? Willow, you take care of Giles, drag him out of here, something, while we..."

"No, that would be a bad idea." They all turned to the university woman sitting on the bench. The woman was staring at the creature, but with more interest than horror.

"Uh, why? We're short on time here," said Buffy, one eye still on the monster.

"I think it's a Hydra," she stated. Buffy blinked at her. "A creature from Greek mythology. Every time you cut off a head, two heads will replace it."

"So, we kill it how?" demanded Cordelia.

The woman went on, "According to legend, Hercules killed it by chopping off each head and then immediately cauterizing the wound."

"Caught-a-who?" asked Buffy

"Burning the wound shut before it can generate another head," said Oz.

"OK, plan B. I distract it, you guys look for something to turn into a torch." She ran towards the creature, which had restarted its assault on the beach. Oz grabbed up his sword and ran after her. Cordelia sighed and picked up her crossbow and fitted another bolt. Willow was kneeling by Giles, checking his pulse.

"I guess I'm in charge of torches," said Gary to no one in particular. He looked around in the gathering gloom. What could be made into a torch? His eyes lighted on a small, dense stand of evergreen shrubs. Yes, he thought. Dead pine burns like crazy, this could work. He sprinted towards the bushes. He scanned the ground as he approached the evergreens. Darn, no dead branches. He dove into the stand, thinking that the grounds keepers wouldn't bother to clean up all the dead fall. His foot caught on a branch, and he went sprawling into an opening in the middle of the stand.

Oddly enough, Gary wasn't alone. A young man was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the tiny clearing. Black and red candles were arranged in a pattern before the man. To Gary's disgust, there were also some dismembered rabbits. The man was muttering to himself, seemingly oblivious of Gary or the fighting going on near the lake front. Gary lurched to his feet.

"Hey buddy, you need to get out of here," said Gary. The young man finally looked up at Gary. His eyes were glowing black.

"I do not need to go anywhere," he said in an offhand tone of voice that made Gary's skin crawl. "It is mine. It does what I want." Gary knew he was going to regret asking, but he couldn't stop himself.

"And what do you want?"

"To kill them all," he said.

Gary took a step forward. He didn't notice the elaborate pattern of sand and chalk on the ground. The young man screamed, "No!" as Gary's foot came down on the design, breaking the circle surrounding the man.

"You idiot!" The man jumped to his feet. "Do you know what you've done?" He launched himself at Gary's throat. They both went crashing through the branches onto the lawn. "You've ruined it! You've ruined it!" he screeched as he flailed out at Gary. Gary could barely avoid the enraged blows. All of the sudden the man's screams of rage turned into a horrible, high-pitched keen of pain. At the same time, the creature behind Gary howled. The man's hands grabbed at his face. He rolled away from Gary and huddled, fetal position on the lawn, screaming.

Gary turned away from his opponent. The creature was thrashing its heads about. "What happened?" he yelled.

Cordelia yelled back, "Arrow to the eye. I rock!" She returned her attention to reloading her crossbow. Oz and Buffy were still harassing the monster. The university woman was kneeling besides Giles. Gary looked back at the strange man. He was still huddled on the ground, and, apparently harmless, at least for the moment. Gary dove back into the stand of evergreens. In a few moments he gathered several large dead branches. He ran back to the bench. "Does anyone have matches, a lighter, something?" he cried. The woman reached into her jacket pockets, muttering something about "I left Cleveland to get away from this sort of thing," and dumped out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Hmm, never thought I'd be happy that I can't kick the habit," she said as she handed the lighter to Gary.

"Thanks, Miss.." Gary stopped. He didn't even know her name.

"Olmos. Victoria Olmos." She reached into her other pocket and came up with a wad of tissues. "Here, this should help start the fire."

Willow came over, her hands clutching old newspapers and greasy food wrappers fished out of a garbage can. She and Gary wrapped the odd assortment of papers around the branches as best as they could, fastening it together badly with old tape, also from the garbage can. Gary grabbed up the lighter and torch and started running toward Buffy.

"Hey, are you ready?"

"Past ready," yelled Buffy. Gary could see Buffy now had the grappling hook in one hand. She eyed the monster.

"When I yell 'now', light the torch and throw it to me. Then get out of the way. Got that?"

"Yeah." Gary watched in fascination as she danced around the maddened beast's thrashing heads. One of the heads dipped down. Buffy twirled the rope with the hook, and let it fly. It wrapped itself several times around the neck holding up the injured head. She swung up the rope and landed on the thing's back, behind and between the necks. Hanging onto the rope with one hand, her sword arm slashed down twice. Both heads hit the ground with a wet thud. The monster's body collapsed.

"Now!" she yelled, as she buried her sword in one neck.

Gary lit the torches and threw them at her. She grabbed them, one in each hand, and thrust them into the bleeding stumps. A keening cry came from behind Gary. Buffy ignored it; she was focused on making sure she burned the stumps completely.

Gary did turn toward the gurgling noise behind him. He could see the strange man thrashing about on the ground, clutching his throat. He arched once, horribly, and then slumped, a still form on the grass. Gary ran up to him and felt for a pulse. Nothing. CPR, he should try CPR. He started jerking the man's jacket back.

"It won't do any good." It was Giles' voice, weak, but certain. Ms. Olmos was supporting him in a sitting position. "I saw the last minute of that. He was tied to the creature, wasn't he?"

Gary looked at him blankly. "Tied to it? Huh?"

"Oh yeah, bad mojo here," came Willow's voice. Her head popped out of the evergreen stand. "Ritual circle, dead bunnies, the whole deal." Gary looked from Willow back to Giles.

"He summoned the creature," explained Giles. "Why, I don't know."

End Part VI

Author's question: Does Gary know CPR? Did it ever come up in the show?

And for crying out loud, when is "Early Edition" going to be released on DVD? Inquiring minds...

And now for the toughest thing of all - writing the wrap up in which all will be explained. Final chapter coming soon!


	7. Chapter 7

Usual disclaimers...

Don't own them. Never have, never will. Please don't sue.

Chosen Ones' Anonymous

Part VII

After the excitement was over, they all retreated back to Gary's place. There was nothing to be done with the bodies, human or otherwise. The authorities would have to make of it what they would. The Paper's front page now gave a rather confused account of a body found on the lakefront near a pile of what was being called "slaughter house waste". ("Hey, at least it's a change from 'gang members on PCP'," quipped Buffy) Giles was now lying on the sofa, an ice pack on his head. Gary had wanted to take him to a hospital, but he refused. Buffy pulled up a chair to sit next to him.

"How's the headache?" she asked.

"Pretty average, on the whole," he replied. "Another job well done, Buffy."

"Yeah, she was awesome," enthused Willow. "I wish you could have seen it. It was like a movie, but real. Oh, Ms. Olmos is making you some tea. She said it's the universal British antidote. And she didn't get hysterical or anything. And she told us how to kill the monster."

"I plan on having major hysterics when I get home," came a voice from the kitchen door. The admissions officer walked up and put a cup and saucer down on the coffee table. "Sorry, it's tea in a bag."

"I've gotten used to it," said Giles. "Have you been to England?"

"Oh yes, I spent a year at Oxford."

Giles brightened up at this. They started talking about places and people. Buffy and Willow backed away.

"This is good," said Willow, "'cause you know you should keep talking to people with head injuries to keep them from going to sleep and everything."

"Yeah, and she talks his lingo," agreed Buffy. They could hear Giles and Victoria trading stories about some professor they both knew. They went and sat down at Gary's dining table. He joined them, wincing as he sat down.

"Will someone explain that "tied to him" thing?"

"I think he summoned the hydra," said Willow. "That's why there was a ritual circle, and sacrificed animals, and everything. When you stepped on the circle, you disrupted the spell. He was still tied to the monster, but he couldn't control it anymore. And I think he had some side spell going to keep him from feeling the monster's pain when it was wounded. That's why he collapsed when it got hit in the eye by the crossbow bolt."

"And that's why he died when Buffy killed it," Gary whispered. "Oh, God..."

Buffy noted his pale face and gripped his hand.

"It's not your fault he's dead, Gary," said Buffy firmly, looking him straight in the eye. "It's his fault for trying this stupid stunt." She kept looking at him until he nodded his head slightly in assent. "I wonder why he did it."

Ms. Olmos cleared her throat.

"Well, this is totally unofficial, and you didn't hear it from me," she paused, looking at the group. They all took the hint and nodded their heads. "He was a student at Northwestern. He was expelled last semester. Strange behavior, harassing other students, that sort of thing. The last time I saw him, he was threatening revenge. I was afraid he was the type who would show up with some guns, or a bomb. This was not in my wildest imagination."

Oz nodded. "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition," he intoned.

"So," she asked, "is this the sort of thing we can expect if a Sunnydale student comes to Northwestern?"

Gary noticed Buffy wince. Giles and Willow looked outraged. Cordy seemed to be considering the question seriously. And Oz - who the heck could figure what that kid was thinking? Giles recovered first.

"Fate seems to make sure The Slayer will be where she is most needed. If she comes to Chicago, you will be very glad she is here." he said stiffly.

Ms. Olmos smiled. "Well, I keep that in mind when the admissions committee meets."

Giles groaned as he rose from the sofa.

"Well, this has been very exciting, but we have to get up early tomorrow to catch our flight back to Sunnydale," he stated. "We better head back to the hotel."

"Ah, what about the swords and stuff?" asked Gary.

"We certainly can't take them on the airplane with us," said Giles.

"Keep them as a weird souvenir?" suggested Buffy.

Cordelia walked up to Gary and handed him a piece of paper.

"That's my cell phone number. If your freaky paper says that something really bad..."

"As opposed to the usual, everyday bad," muttered Willow.

Cordelia ignored the interruption. "...is going to happen in Sunnydale, give me a call, ok?" She smiled winningly at Gary.

"Er, yeah, sure," he replied. He walked them down to the front door of McGinty's, and watched them squeeze themselves into a cab. He felt something nudge him on the ankle. He looked down.

"Oh, hi Cat. Please tell me tomorrow is going to be less exciting."

Cat looked at him with that "humans are so stupid" look that only felines can truly master.

"Yeah, what was I thinking? See you in the morning."

"Meow."

The End

---------

This is my attempt to explain how Buffy, with her less than stellar academic record and total lack of school activities involvement (slaying gets in the way French Club meetings, oui?) was accepted into Northwestern, a very competitive university.

Ah, for more innocent times. Back in the 1970's, my brother purchased an antique whaler's harpoon while touring New England - and was allowed to bring it into the passenger cabin.

Constructive criticism is welcomed; flames will be diverted to my furnace to help keep down heating bills. My thanks for the kind notes and reviews - and even the criticism, because that motivated me to go back over the story and clean up some sloppy writing.

Now, to move on to that anime-crossover that's almost ready to come out of the creative oven...


End file.
